De Colo discusses D-League transition

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Nando De Colo, whose best-case scenario was Beno Udrih according to Draft Express, signed with the San Antonio Spurs last year.

The 6-5 point guard flashed some next-level awareness in the pick-and-roll — the bread-and-butter of every NBA offense — but he was supplanted by Patty Mills and Cory Joseph in the rotation. De Colo didn’t stick in the NBA very long, because he couldn’t defend any position, and he turned the ball over on a fourth of his possessions.

He sat down with D-League Digest to discuss his transition to the D-League, where he’s appeared in eight games this season.

Via D-League Digest:

I think the offense with the Toros fits my game, and the plays are similar to what we run with the Spurs,” De Colo said. “I enjoy playing with the Toros because it’s a good team with good teammates.”

The Austin Toros have climbed to second in points per possession, behind the top-seeded Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and they’ve won seven of the eight games De Colo has started this year. The Toros are 32.4 points (per 100 possessions) better with De Colo on the floor, with a 58.7 effective field goal percentage, a shooting efficiency that would lead the D-League.

What we have with the Spurs is more or less the same as what we have with the Toros, everyone is a team player,” De Colo said. “Every player is great on the court, but even better off the court. I think this is why San Antonio is such a great organization.”

De Colo is averaging 23.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.8 steals in 37.2 minutes. He needs two games to qualify for the D-League scoring leaderboard; he’s only scoring less points per game than Pierre Jackson, Manny Harris, Devin Ebanks and Troy Daniels. De Colo, who has barely made a dent in the NBA while decimating his D-League opposition, contends there is several NBA caliber players in the D-League.

There is a difference between the NBA and the D-League, but sometimes you can find a guy like Ricky Davis in the D-League, who is an experienced NBA player and still very good,” De Colo said. “You never know what kind of matchup you’ll find in the D-League.”

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